Galaxy Buds 2 iFixit Teardown Hints At A Disappointing Trend

It has pretty much become expected that almost all smartphones, especially high-end ones, aren't built to be easy to repair. They might be designed to survive a few accidents, but repairing them with less than trained hands has never been a priority. That practice has trickled down into the smallest of accessories that are often too easy to lose or too easy to break. Samsung's new Galaxy Buds 2 is no exception and may even point to less favorable changes in the future, at least as far as iFixit is concerned.

Earbuds aren't exactly the toughest accessories out there, though they are often designed to have some water resistance. They don't have many hardware components inside, though, but the ones they do have are often not as easy to remove and replace. iFixit has previously praised Samsung's line of Galaxy Buds for their repairability, but it seems that the company is taking a turn for the worse in its eyes.

To be fair, the Galaxy Buds 2 was actually easy to open up, though you do have to deform the shell in the process. The inner pink shell that houses all the hardware comes off easily, but the batteries, which are soldered to connectors, unlike models before last year's Galaxy Buds+. They're not exactly a big deal for experts like iFixit, but DIY repairs might have problems with this common part.

The Galaxy Buds 2's saving grace is the charging case, which is much easier to open up and even has a modular battery. That battery is less likely to fail or die sooner than the buds' coin batteries, though, but it's still reassuring to see how easy it would be replaced when the time does come.

iFixit gives the Galaxy Buds 2 a 5 out of 10 when it comes to repairs. While not the most difficult buds to tear down, Samsung seems to be heading down a path where it could end just like those in the very near future. That said, the Galaxy Buds 2's easy teardown may have also come at the price of a lower IPX2 compared to other buds in the market.